1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foldable display with superior portability, an input device provided with the foldable display and a foldable keyboard with superior portability and good operationality during operation, and a personal computer provided with the input device. More specifically, the present invention relates to an input device and a personal computer provided with a display constructed to be foldable in correspondence with a folded state of a keyboard, whereby enhancing portability of the input device and the personal computer for carrying, achieving good operationality equivalent to a desktop type input device and personal computer during use, and further enabling a stably folding operation of the display over a long period of time.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, there have been proposed various types of portable electronic devices each including an input operating part, for example, a foldable keyboard, and a foldable display.
For example, Japanese patent unexamined publication No. Hei 10-293624 discloses a portable electronic device including a first unit mounting a display part and a second unit constructing an input operating part, wherein the first and second units are rotatably connected through a connecting part and the second unit includes a main part and two sub parts foldably connected with both sides of the main part through two connecting parts (See JP-A-10/293624, on page 2 and FIGS. 1 through 3).
In such portable electronic device, the main part and the sub parts are horizontally arranged during use, thereby providing a wide area as an inputting part and, on the other hand, the sub parts are folded on the main part through the connecting parts during nonuse, thereby enhancing the portability.
Furthermore, International patent publication No. WO99/34348 discloses a portable electronic device constructed such that a main unit of the device is coupled in an openable and closable relation with a cover through coupling means such as a hinge, and a flexible liquid crystal display panel integrally including a touch-sensitive input operating part is fixed over the main unit and the cover (See WO99/34348, on page 9 and FIGS. 1 through 3).
During use of this portable electronic device, a desired input operation is performed by means of the touch-sensitive input operating part provided in the display panel. During nonuse, when the cover is closed, a bent part of the display panel is caused to enter clearance grooves formed in the main unit and the cover near the coupling means, while ensuring a large curvature. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent damage and deterioration due to the folding operation of the flexible liquid crystal display panel.
In the portable electronic device disclosed in JP-A-10/293624, however, the two sub parts in the input operating part are constructed foldable to be superposed on the main part through the connecting parts, whereas the first unit including the display part is designed in itself not to be foldable. Thus, the size of the electronic device depends on the size of the first unit. This is still insufficient to further improve the portability of the electronic device and enhance the downsizing of the whole electronic device.
In the portable electronic device disclosed in WO99/34348, the touch-sensitive input operating part and the display part are constructed by a single flexible liquid crystal display panel, and this panel is fixedly laid over the main unit and the cover so that the panel is folded when the cover is closed during nonuse. The touch-sensitive input operating part itself is generally formed flat, which is very poor in operationality as compared with a keyboard on which a plurality of keys are arranged. In addition, the touch-sensitive input operating part itself is not foldable, so that the size of this input operating part is determined depending on the size of the flexible liquid crystal display panel. Similarly to the above case, it is still insufficient to further improve the portability of the portable electronic device and to downsize the whole device. The bent portion of the display panel is caused to enter the clearance grooves when the cover is closed, thereby preventing damage and deterioration due to the folding operation of the display panel. When bending (folding) operations of the display panel are repeated over a long time, the display panel would often become liable to automatically bend with a fold line, which causes corrugations in the panel. Consequently, it is still insufficient to stably bend or fold the flexible liquid crystal display panel.